So, in time honoured tradition, it seems that a retrospective of this year and a look ahead to the new one is in order... Lists are also popular this time of year, so we'll also go with a few lists, perhaps, starting with

Of course, it wasn't all about things breaking. Some things did actually work!

Top ten things that worked this year...1. Launch of The Front Line, Volume II of The Automata Wars2. Launch of e-book of The Home Front, Volume I of The Automata Wars3. Successfully completed year one of masters degree4. Redecorated bedroom into a stunning boudoir-ette5. Launched workshops & presentations & received positive feedback6. Completed recording new Crimson Clocks EP7. Zombie apocalypse so tightly contained, you probably never even noticed it going on8. Cat apocalypse so tightly contained... ah, ok, the war still wages on that one9. First ventures into video making10. Wolves! Birds of Prey! Meerkats! And other assorted animalia...

Boudoir-ette, complete with semi-apocalyptical cat

There were ups and there were downs... most of the downs were many fallings off bicycle, both old one pre-breakage, and new demonically possessed bike. At least the old one only threw me when it was icy. The new one has so far flung me into a canal, and into a workman's excavation pit, and remained sparklingly unscathed on the side each time. I suspect a blood sacrifice may be in order.....A whole paragraph and no lists? Better remedy that then with...

Things of the year: - Book of the year - Ream.de, Neal Stephenson.I didn't get chance for much leisure reading, what with studying, writing, working etc. Once I started reading this, I had to read at dangerous breakneck speed - it was that much of an adrenaline rush... - Gig of the year - The Mechanisms, Ulysses dies at Dawn, Lincoln September 2013Great musicians. Great performance. Well worth the entrance fee - Film of the year - The Hobbit: The Desolation of SmaugAs with reading, I had limited time for cinema going, and only watched a few films on the big screen this year, despite plans at the start of the year. Smaug was a standout amongst the very few I saw... - Snack of the year - maltesersNot only are they tasty, you can play blow football with them. And mini basket-ball - Rediscovered food of the year - Butterscotch Angel Delight....mmmmmmm.... - Favourite photo I took this year - probably this one:

So, was it a good year? Well, yes and no - but to be honest, aren't they all like that? Some things very definitely didn't work out as I hoped. Others were good, but fleeting. One thing I can honestly say is that anything that was a first for me this year will never be a first for me again. But that doesn't matter, because eventually there will be other things to do...I don't make resolutions, because there doesn't seem much point. I aim to finish my masters degree this year - September 2014 is the course end date - but of course, a demon-bike related incident could even defer this date, which seems otherwise set in stone. One thing I 'plan' to do is to take a break from facebook and other, similar social media sites, so if you follow me on there, I aim to be not so much in evidence (though we'll see how long this lasts). I'm hoping to keep up with this blog, though, and with other activities that automatically link to facebook, so it won't be complete devoid of my presence - though I won't then be commenting on those posts...So all that remains for me to do is to leave you instead with some hopes for the coming year. - I hope you and your families and your loved ones, furry or otherwise, remain healthy - I hope that stuff happens that you will enjoy - I hope that when the inevitable stuff happens that you can't possibly enjoy, you can at least bear it; and - I hope that the new Doctor does a good job...Happy new year to you all... see you in 2014. Don't be late. The clock is ticking...

The nights drew in. A thick hoar frost became a regular morning caller, tracing icy fingers across paths and grasses, turning bared trees into glistening monoliths. Birdsong was muted and discordant; the more tuneful avian visitors had fled to warmer climes for the winter. The air was grey and biting, and all traces of colour were erased from the cold, hard earth.It was just the right time of year for a celebration.

- extract from The Home Front, Volume one of The Automata Wars. Chapter 5: Lies, or Merry Festival, Mr Black.

And indeed, I'd like to offer you all best wishes for the season, and for the coming new year. In particular, best wishes go to those who will be working over the festive break; and also to those who might find themselves alone for whatever reason. Enjoy the festivities, however you spend them and whatever your plans, keep safe (keep secret!), and most of all, enjoy the Doctor Who xmas special! But watch out for Mr Black, and Mr White. Remember - the automata do not act as we do. They do not feel the bite of the cold.And they walk amongst us... ;-)

Jasper was rejected by his fellow meerkats, and completely raised by hand, hence his penchant for cuddles (see pic) and snoozing (see pic) rather than standing on guard or wearing a fez, as we know all meerkats are prone to do. I was introduced to Jasper as the delicate strains of a Hawaiian xmas tune bellowed out from a speaker behind us, and xmas trees blew over in the wind. Jasper seemed pretty much unconcerned.

Later I met some of his friends. I discovered they don’t like banana. They tolerate grapes, if thoroughly polished in dirt, and they may or may not deign to eat sweet peppers. They will beg for mealworms. Roast mealworm with stuffing for xmas dinner, one imagines, this year! I was advised not to try to steal a meerkat, as they are not toilet trained, and I have many pairs of nice boots. So not one of them 'accidentally' hid away in my camera bag – not even Jasper...

Meerkats aside, I have more exciting music news this week as I can reveal that Crimson Clocks has launched a bandcamp page, from which you can now download our debut EP, Ingeniously Evil, in its entirety! Buying someone an MP3 reader for Xmas? Why not pre-load it with one/ some/ all of our tracks? Surely a stroke of (evil) genius (ahem). (While I’m at it, I shall once again remind you that The Home Front, volume 1 of The Automata Wars is now also available for digital download exclusively from Amazon – yet another wonderful, even if I do say so myself, idea for an Xmas gift...)

Crimson Clocks’ bandcamp page will soon be further adorned with all of the tracks from our new EP – including Safe Pair of Hands, Crimson Circus, All Seeing Eye and the Little Myth goddess songs, so keep eyes peeled in the new year. (Not like grapes – unless you want a meerkat to rub them in the dirt...).

Frosty Belles and Whistles, the burlesque and steampunk event held at The Roadhouse in Birmingham last week, was great. At least what I saw of it! Attending this event transpired to be a bit of a cursed endeavour, as first our violinist’s illness forced Crimson Clocks to withdraw (missus); and then car failure meant that books and the like had to be hauled to the event via public transport and Shanks’s pony*, resulting in an early end to the night for me in order to get back home again... However I was able to see Needle Poppets and Birthrite perform (pics below), as well as catching some of the burlesque and boylesque acts (no pics in case you go blind!)And so ends the last public event of this year, though as I mentioned last week, there are already a couple of things in the pipeline for next year... Less publicly, next week I shall be undertaking a meerkat experience, during which time I will be trying to restrain myself from any random Jimi Hendrix quotes** (or even Johnny Morris*** quotes)... then it will be full steam ahead on the next essay for my Masters degree.... so stay tuned for photographs of unbearable cuteness next week. Oh, and there may be some of the meerkats too...* Slang for walking ** “Are you experienced?” *** Johnny Morris was a children’s entertainer, who entertained mostly by doing voiceovers on clips of animals, interpreting what the animal might be saying, on a TV programme called Animal Magic. Many children grew up with the knowledge that every animal possessed the same dulcet tones as Johnny Morris.

As exclusively announced by The Last Line publishing house at last weekend’s Steampunks in Space event in Leicester, I can now reveal that The Home Front, Volume 1 of The Automata Wars, authored by me, has now gone digital! The Home Front is the first of The Last Line’s publications to lift-off from paper into digital space (though it won’t be the last). The digital edition includes an author after-word and updated author info compared to the print edition, which was released in September 2013. It remains a tale of war, rather than of individuals, and features terrorists and torture, debutantes and danger, prostitutes and killer robots.... who could ask for anything more?The Home Front is available for download from Amazon now.Volume 2, The Front Line, will leap the digital divide next summer. In the meantime, print copies of both volumes are still available, and in fact I’ll have copies with me at the Frosty Belles and Whistles Burlesque and Steampunk event on Sunday 8th December at The Roadhouse, Birmingham.We are very sorry to announce that Crimson Clocks have had to withdraw from performing at this event as unfortunately one of our Clocks is poorly – nothing that a little slicing and dicing won’t fix... However I will still be there to fly the Crimson flag, with a selection of books available from The Last Line and from Tenebrous Texts. Books, of course, make perfect Xmas presents... and if you’re buying someone an e-reader as a gift, you could always pre-load it with The Home Front as a little extra...(Remember, a book is for life, not just for Xmas...).

Author

I'm a writer of steampunk/ fantasy fiction, singer/musician and writer at LM Cooke Music, singer in the parody band Mediaeval Biaetches, occasional historian, and co-presenter of the Gothic Alternative Steampunk and Progressive web radio show. Here I will ramble vaguely about stuff. Friends, countrymen, and people who aren't countrymen, lend me your ears...